Izenberg: Greg Schiano's whirling visit landed DT Scott Vallone

Frances Micklow/The Star-LedgerScott Vallone, once destined for Boston, has made a huge impact on the Scarlet Knights defense.

They had come all the way from Chestnut Hill, Mass., to seal the deal. They knew what they thought they were getting in Scott Vallone ... a big-time high school prospect from a Long Island powerhouse named St. Anthony’s who only twice in a 33-game career had seen his team lose.

He was the rock on which Boston College head coach Jeff Jagodzinski would build a future for the Eagles ... the kind of future that had visions of sugar plums and January bowl games among all the X’s and O’s in the coaching staff’s collective brain.

They had moved on to telling him about the myriad of advantages offered by a Jesuit education and the cultural benefit of life in the mainstream of Boston, Mass. This had always been a major selling point in Boston College football recruiting, ever since old Sleepy Jim Crowley had mined the high school football fields of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, and motivated a kid named Vince Lombardi.

This was the part of the game where the coaches stopped just short of producing the Boston College glee club singing “For Boston, For Boston, We sing our proud refrain” in front of a montage of campus scenes.

This was where Scott Vallone was supposed to (and almost did) say, “I’m yours. Sign me up.” But suddenly, the sound of thunder rocked the South Huntington ozone.

Suddenly, with all the subtlety of a falling safe, Captain New Jersey dropped out of the sky. The only thing missing was the New York Philharmonic Orchestra roaring out the “The Ride of the Valkyries.”

Scott Vallone heard the noise. Hell, half the student body heard the thunder of the whirling propeller and saw the helicopter land on the athletic field behind the high school. Critics of Greek drama use the Latin phrase “deus ex machina” in such unexpected situations.

In Latin it meant “god out of the machine.” That day on Long Island you could have said it meant:

“Goodbye Charles River. Hello, Banks of the Raritan.”

The helicopter was the residue of a rarely used benefit from a trade-out deal for billboard space at High Point Solutions Stadium (Rutgers’ home field) with the helicopter service firm. Greg Schiano has only used it twice.

Once this spectacular commotion began, the only thing left for coach Jagodzinski was to say “Good luck and thanks for the memory.”

“I was a little embarrassed,” Vallone recalls, “It was awkward at first. But I have to admit: It was pretty impressive. I didn’t know much about Rutgers. I chose it because of coach Schiano. I chose it because I trust him.”

How are you not gonna trust a guy who falls out of the sky in your scholastic backyard and when he hits the ground he tells you to follow him?

Schiano had more than enough reason to go to that extreme in view of Vallone’s credentials. He was rated as the No. 3 prospect in the state of New York and the No. 20 defensive tackle in the nation by Rivals.com. He became the very first big-time Long Island recruit for Schiano.

But his first year at Rutgers in 2008 did not exactly match the drama of the day Schiano first dropped in on him. Vallone played in just two early games, had major ankle problems and was red-shirted. But, starting with the following season, he has been a starter for 36 straight games for the Scarlet Knights.

When Vallone’s close friend Eric LeGrand went down with a horrible paralyzing injury in the Army game a year ago, it was Schiano and he who were at the hospital that night. He brings maturity as well as strength and ability to his position as a down lineman.

The numbers are there this season. He had a monster game in the opener against North Carolina Central and recovered a fumble in the end zone to score his first touchdown since he was 13 years old. Against North Carolina, the tackle dropped back in pass coverage and tipped a pass to a teammate for an interception. He blocked a critical punt against Syracuse and had a career best 12 tackles in the 21-20 win over Navy.

And so it went for him most of this very strange Rutgers season.

And now they go against Iowa State on Friday in the Pinstripe Bowl ... not the kind of post-season game they thought they could earn. The horrible showing in the season finale against Connecticut is a pointer stone in their collective metaphorical shoes.

That elder statesman from New Jersey, Bill Parcells, once said, “Don’t kid yourself. You are what your record says you are.”

“I can’t argue with that,” Vallone said, “But I know that it may be true for us, but it shouldn’t be. We have to do better for the seniors on this team. We owe them. I will be back next year and I owe myself.”

So the question Friday is this:

Is this the last game of this season or, for Rutgers, is this the first one of next season?
“That’s a great question,” Vallone said.